Optician Salary – Opportunities Await!

Opticians play a very important role and their service to society must not be ignored. There is a great demand for skilled opticians and therefore there is no dearth for job opportunities. An Optician salary which is calculated on an hourly basiswould depend upon the offerings of various centers or clinics in which they apply. However the minimum that one can expect would be anywhere from $10 to $20 per hour. There is a great opportunity for growth. This is because an optician has a very interesting role to play. Their job requires for them to deduce medical prescription, as well as the number or strength of eyeglasses and contact lenses prescribed by the optometrists or ophthalmologists to the patient. Those who work for optometrists and ophthalmologists very often assist in taking the various tests to calculate the customer/patient’s vision.

This however, is only one facet of their job which is taken into account while calculating the Optician salary. They also take measurements of the customer’s face as well as the distance between the corneas of the eyes to ensure the lenses are perfectly fitted in the frames thereby ensuring comfort. Some opticians specialize in the fitting of contact lens and also in fitting artificial eyes. They use various specialized equipment, such as lens gauges, calipers, optical screwdrivers, hex wrenches and lens meters. The Optician helps the customer to select the ideal type of spectacle frame, style, and color, size that is best suited to the customer’s daily routine, lifestyle and preference. All this is done keeping in mind the recommendation and specifications of the optometrists or ophthalmologists. There is an opportunity of owning one’s own retail store besides working work for an optical store which would again influence an Opticians salary.

They must have a vast knowledge of the various brands of spectacles and contact lenses available in the market along with their unique features. They guide the customer in choosing lenses that is best suited to their need. They also give the customer instructions on the proper use and maintenance of the spectacles or contact lenses so as to gain the utmost benefit from the product. Therefore, besides the above, an Optician Salary would also depend on various other factors viz. whether the optician has only a High School Diploma or has acquired an Associate Degree or a Certificate which helps prepare students with the required skills to gain an entry into this field. An Approved Apprenticeship is also favored.

A proper and legitimate license to practice is a definite advantage. There is also an opportunity to practice for those who are interested but not licensed. In order to understand the scale for scope in this field, some statistics on the Opticians Salary must be looked into. The ones belonging to lower strata earn around $10.16 per hour. The salary of those in the middle strata is around $16.73 per hour and those who fall into the upper bracket earn above $24.31 per hour. Therefore the average annual salary could range from $20,000 to $ 40,000 per annum.